Sewing machine



Aug. 3,1948. N. v. CHRISTENSEN ET AL 2,446,261

SEWING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 3, 1948. v CHRISTENSEN ET AL 2,446,261

SEWING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. u l

. BY fi Aug. 3, 1948.

Filed May 18, 1946 N. l. CHRISTENSEN ET AL SEWING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 a g Q M? \K INVENTORS.

Patented Aug. 3, 1948 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE SEWING MACHINE Application May 18, 1946, Serial No. 670,762

8Claims. (Cl. 112-218) This invention relates to improvements in sewing apparatus and more particularly to a combination of certain accessory devices with a sewing machine for the purpose of delivering a stream of air to the zone of operation of the needle or needles above the work support. Such stream of air serves to cool the needles and thus increase the permissible speed of operation of the machine, particularly when operatin upon heavy and coarse fabrics which have a tendency to heat the needles excessively due to friction. The stream of air may also serve to remove chips and particles of dirt and lint which otherwise have a tendency to accumulate upon and around the work support.

An object of the invention has been to provide a simple and effective means of the above indicated character which is easy to'construct and assemble in relation to a sewing machine and which is inexpensive and economical in its operation.

A further object has been to provide needle cooling and lint removing means of thetype specified which operates independently of the operation of the machine and, therefore, may be in continuous operation whereasth'e machine is operated only intermittently. A feature of the invention, in this connection, is the provision of a simple, yet effective, means for rendering the air blowing means inoperative at will. This is an important feature since it is difficult, if not impossible, to thread the needle of a sewing machine while a stream of air is blowing across it.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description of an illustrative form of the same which will now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: H

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a sewing machine and associated blower mounted in appropriate relation on a supporting table;

Figure 2 isa vertical sectional view through the blower and its support, showing in elevation a suitable driving motor for the blower;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the devices shown in Figure 2 as viewed from the right end thereof; and

Figure 4 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, illustrating a modified. arrangement in which the blower is mounted directly on the electric transmitter which drives the sewing machine; I

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly Figure 1, there is shown a supporting table top Ill which, it will be understood, is adapted to be carried by any suitable leg or frame structure of conventional type. It may either be a long table adapted to support a plurality of machines, or a readily shiftable table adapted to support only a single machine and to be shifted to any suitable position in a line. On the table is mounted a sewing machine I l which may be of any suitable character intended or adapted for operation at such speeds or under such conditions as to make cooling of the needles either necessary or desirable. The machine illustrated is of the feedofi-the-arm type disclosed in the Christensen et al. Patent No. 1,741,096, granted December 24, 1929. It is operated by power supplied to a combined handwheel and pulley l2 mounted on the main drive shaft of the machine, the power being delivered through a belt l3 connected with a pulley l4 associated with any suitable power source. The pulley l4 may, for example, be associated with a line shaft and, if so, it will be understood that there will be provided in conjunction with it a suitable clutch or transmitter Ma enabling the operator to throw the machine into and out of operation at will by means of a treadle or the like. If desired the power source may be an individual motor associated directly with the machine and having, as a unitary part, a clutch adapted for control at will by manual, knee or treadle operation. A suitable form of such an electric transmitter unit is illustrated in Figure 4 and will be described in further de-' tail hereinafter. v

The sewin machine is provided with stitchforming devices including a needle bar l5 carrying one or more needles l6 adapted to be reciprocated from a position above the work to a position in which the points of the needles are below the work supporting surface of the arm M. It will be understood that within the arm, appropriate complemental stitch-forming means, such as loopers, are provided. Work feeding devices are also provided within the work supporting arm, these cooperating with a presser foot lBa carried by a presser bar l8 to assist in feeding the work along or 01f of the arm. For furtherdetails as to the construction and operation of suitable forms of stitch-forming and work feeding devices, reference may be had to said Christensen et al. patent.

At an appropriate point on the table Ill, so selected as to avoid interference with the operation of the sewing machine and the handling of the work, there is mounted a blower l 9 of any appropriate construction. This blower is carried by a bracket or stand 20 which is secured in any suitable Way, as by means of screws 21, to the table. The bracket is preferably of L-shape, as shown in Figure 2, and the screws 2! are passed through suitable openings in the horizontal leg of the bracket. If desired, the openings, not shown, may be suitably elongated or otherwise enlarged, in relationto the shanks of the screws, so as to permit a certain amount of adjustment of the bracket on the table. Such adjustment may involve movement of the bracket toward the right or the left in Figure 1 or to the right or left in Figure 2, or it may involve rotation or angling about a vertical axis. By providing the horizontal leg of the standard with openings somewhat larger than the diameter of the shanks of the screws 2| and by providing, if necessary, a washer between the head of each screw and the top of the horizontal leg of the bracket, provision may be made for all of the types of adjustment specified.

The blower i9 comprises a housing 22, the main body of which may be formed of a casting having the configuration, in face view, indicated in Figure 3. This housing member may be mounted upon and secured to the vertical portion of the bracket 20 by means of screws 23 which have threaded engagement with apertures in the housing member and pass through arcuate slots 25 formed in the bracket. This arrangement is such that the angular position of the blower housing in relation to the bracket may be varied to a certain extent to provide further adjustment of the air delivering means, in the manner to be hereinafter explained. The outer face of the housing member 22 is closed by a plate 26 which has the same general configuration in face view as the member 22 and which is secured to the latter by screws 21. The plate 26 is preferably of solid construction, except for a relatively large central opening which carries, a screen element 28- serving as a filter for the air drawn into the blower. Any suitable means may be provided for retaining the screen in the opening of the plate, the arrangement preferably being such as to enable replacement of the screen, if and when it becomes clogged with dirt and lint.

For the purpose of driving the blower, a small motor 29 which may be of only a small fraction of ahorsepower, preferably less than 1% horsepower, is provided, this being mounted by means of screws 30 upon the bracket 20. The screws 30 pass through the frame of the motor and cooperate with threaded apertures in the bracket 20. The latter is provided with a central opening 3| through which the shaft 32 of the motor extends. On the projecting end of this shaft there is mounted a hub 33 forming part of the rotor of the blower, this hub being secured in desired position axially of the shaft by means of a screw 33a. The blower rotor may suitably be of the type disclosed in the application of George Sauer, Serial No. 442,585, filed May 12, 1942, now Patent 2,418,429, April 1,. 1947. It may include a centrally apertured, disc-like member 34 secured by screws or the like to a radially extending flange of the hub 33. On one face of member 34 a series of radially extending vanes or impeller blades 35 are provided. These may be of angle construction and have one leg welded or otherwise secured to the face of the member 34 or they may be struck up from an annular member which is secured to the member 34.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the blower housing is formed to provide a discharge outlet 36 at its periphery, this outlet being preferably of rectangular cross-section and adapted to receive a coupling member 31' formed of metal or rubber or any other suitable material. The outer end of the coupling 31 is preferably of circular crosssection and adapted to receive the end of a conduit 38 which may be formed of metal or of some appropriate plastic or the like. This conduit should be of sufficient diameter or crosssectional area to deliver an adequate amount of air to effect the desired cooling of the needles in accordance with the principles of the Rubel application, Serial No. 433,740, filed March 7, 1942, now Patent 2,423,996, July 15, 1947. The discharge end 33 of the conduit is positioned adjacent the zone of operation of the needles l6 and is adapted to direct a stream of cooling air across this zone of operation in accordance with the teachings of said Rubel application. It will be apparent that the precise location of the discharge end 39 of the conduit is subject to variation or adjustment by the adjustment of the bracket 25 on the table, as hereinabove described, and by the angular adjustment of the housing 22 of the blower with respect to the bracket, as also explained above. In this way, effective delivery of the air in a manner not to interfere with the actions of the operator may be insured under various conditions.

Since the motor 29 is adapted for continuous operation by power delivered to the same through the electrical conduit 290., so long as it is plugged in or a switch is closed, it is desirable to provide means for disabling the blower Wihout stopping the motor whenever threading of the needles is required. For this purpose there is provided a flexible, air-impervious member 40 which is secured by means of rivets 4| or the like to the cover plate 26 of the blower housing. The member 40 may be formed of a suitable plastic material or a fabric which has been suitably coated or impregnated to render it substantially impervious to air. A rubberized or rubber coated fabric, for example, may be employed. In securing the memher to the plate 26 a bar 42, formed of any suitable material, may be provided, so that the lower edge of the member 40 will be firmly gripped between this bar and th plate. As best shown in Figures 1 and 2, the member 40 is preferably secured to the plate ZBjust beneath the intake opening 28 through which air is drawn into the blower housing. The arrangement is such that the member 43 may be positioned either as shown in full lines in, Figure 2, so as to close-off the intake opening 28 and thus render the blower ineffective, or as shown in broken lines, to leave t e opening free for access of air. It will be appreciated that the suction of the blower will serve to hold the member 40 against the plate 26 and over the opening 28 whenever it is flipped into this position. When it is desired to have the blower effective, th flexible member 40 may. howevenbe readily pulled or flipped away from the plate 26 by the hand or finger and it will then drop into the position indicated in broken lines in Figure 2. As soon as the suction effect on the member is broken, it will drop by gravity into this inactive position. If desired a small handle or other suitable means may be provided on the member 40, to facilitate its quick displacement from the full line position of Figure 2 by a flip of the hand or finger of the operator. It will be understood that the blower is positioned on the support ID at a point adjacent the operator of the sewing machine so that the shifting of the member 40 to either its active or inactive position may be readily accomplished.

by the end bonnet 65 of the motor. which may suitably be of the same construction The primary purpose of the disabling member is to cut-ofi the stream of cooling air delivered to the 'zone of operation of the needles whenever it'is necessary to thread them. There may, however, be special operations of the machine during which it is desirable to eliminate the air stream to avoid disturbance of the work. The present invention has the advantage of supplying a stream of cooling air to the needles continuously, when desired, long as the motor is in ope-ration. It is not cut-off upon each stopping of the sewing machine. Accordingly, substantial cooling of the needles takes place during the idle periods of the machine.

Turning now to Figure 4, there is shown a modiiled form of the invention in which the blower, which is continuously driven, is operated by the same motor which drives'the sewing machine. There is provided an electric transmitter which includes a motor 43 carried by a bracket or sup port member M adapted to be secured in any suitable way to the under surface of the supporting table In on which the sewing machine is mounted. A clutch unit 45, of any suitable construction, is also carried by the member 44, in axial alinement with the motor, and is arranged to be operated at will by the operator of the sow ing machine in response to the rocking of a. foot treadle or the movement of a knee-control membe! or the like. The driving member of the clutch tion of George Sauer and Clarence C. Smith, Se-

rial No. 638,186, filed on December 29, 1945. To prevent rotation of the sleeve 54 a key 56 is fitted in a groove in the sleeve and is secured thereto by a screw or the like, the upper portion of this key being adapted to slide in a. groove 51 provided in the part of the support 44 which carries the sleeve. At its outer end the shaft 5| carries a pulley 58 which corresponds with the pulley M of Figure 1. Through a suitable belt connection it serves to drive the sewing machine whenever the clutch is engaged by the'shifting of the shaft 5| andthe member '50 toward the left in Figure 4. Upon disengagement of the clutch the member 50 is carried against a brake element 59 suitably carried at the inner end of a slidabl-e support 69 which may be adjustably mounted on the frame in the manner more fully explained in said Sauer and Smith application.

The blower which is arranged to be continuously driven by the motor 43, so long as the latter is in operation, comprises a housing 6| secured by a series of screws 62 to a spider member 63 which is mounted upon a collar or hub 64 carried A rotor 66,

as the rotor illustrated in Figure 2, is secured by means of a set screw 61 in appropriate position upon the shaft 68 of the motor. Since there is no .axial movement of the shaft 68 the clearance between the rotor and housing of the blower may be relatively small and the disc member 69 of the rotor may be positioned quite close to the inner wall of the housing so as to substantially shut 01f an opening 10 formed in the latter to permit the shaft 68 to extend therethrough. The outer face of the blower housing is closed by a plate H 1 secured to the main body of thehousing by'screws l2. Ilhis plate has a central opening 13 forming an air inlet for the blower.

for filterin the air. Secured to the outer face of the plate H is a flexible closure-or air cut-01f member 14, similar to the member 40 of Figure 2. It may be mounted in substantially the same manner and is adapted to function in the same way. Thus, it will be seen that while the blower is operated continuously, so long as the motor 43 is in operation, the delivery of air by the blower may be interrupted whenever desired. It will be understood that a suitable conduit, similar to conduit 38 of Figure 1, may be connected with the outlet for the blower housin and serve to deliver the stream of cooling air to the zone of operation of the needle or needles of the sewing machine.

This conduit may pass through a suitable hole or opening in the table in in the manner disclosedin said pending Sauer application.

While several illustrative embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in considerable detail, it will be understood that numerous changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the various parts without departing from the general principles and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In combination, a support member, a sewing machine mounted thereon, said machine having stitch formingdevices including a needle, means for intermittently driving said machine, means including acontinuously operable blower having a normally unobstructed intake opening for maximum emciency when the blower is'active and a conduit leading from said blower to the zone-of operation of said needle for delivering a stream of cooling air thereto, and means associated with said blower and readily accessible to the operator of said machine for rendering said blower ineffective while continuing to operate.

2. In combination, a support member, a sewing machine mounted thereon, said machine having stitch forming devices including a needle, means for intermittently driving said machine, means including a continuously operable blower having a normally unobstructed intake opening for maxi operation of said needle for delivering a stream' of cooling air thereto, and normally inactive means associated with said blower and readily accessible to the operator of said machine for completely closing off the air intake for said blower and rendering said blower ineffective while continuing to operate.

3. In combination, a support member, a sewing machine mounted thereon, said machine having stitch forming devices including a needle, means for intermittently driving said machine, means including a continuously operable blower having a normally unobstructed intake opening for maximum efliciency when the blower is active and a conduit leading from said blower to the zone of operation of said needle for delivering a stream of cooling air thereto, and normally inactive means associated with said blower and readily accessible to the operator of said machine for rendering said blower ineffective while continuing to operate, said last mentioned means comprising a flexible cover for completely closing the air inlet of said blower.

4. In sewing apparatus a support member, a sewing machine carried by said member, said ma- The opening 13 is preferably covered or filled by a screen member chine having stitch forming devices including a reciprocable needle, means for intermittently driving said sewing machine, means operable at will for controlling the operation of said machine by said driving means, a blower carried by said support member, said blower having a normally unobstructed intake opening for maximum efficiency when the blower is active, means for driving said blower continuously, a conduit for delivering air from said blower to the zone of operation of said needle, and means readily accessible to the operator of the machine for rendering said blower wholly inefiective while continuing to operate.

5. In sewing apparatus a support member, a sewing machine carried by said member, said machine having stitch forming devices including a reciprocable needle, means for intermittently driving said sewing machine, means operable at will'for controlling the operation of said machine by said driving means, a blower carried by said support member, said blower being provided with a fiat face having normally unobstructed air intake-means, means for driving said blower continuously, a conduit for delivering air from said blower to the zone of operation of said needle, and means for rendering said blower inefiective while continuing to operate, which comprises a flexible, air-impervious member secured to said fiat face and adapted to be positioned over said airintake means to completely close off the same.

. 6. In sewing apparatus a support member, a sewing machine carried by said member, said machine having stitch forming devices including a reciproca-bl'e needle, means for intermittently driving said sewing machine, means operable at will for controlling. the operation of said machine by said driving means, a blower carried by said support member, said blower having normally unobstructed air intake means, means for drivingsaid blower continuously, a conduit for delivering air from said blower to the zone of operation of said needle, and means for rendering said blower ineffective while continuing to operate, whichcomprises means arranged to be swung over said air intake means at will to completely close-the sameand to be held over said intake means by the suction of the blower.

7. In sewing apparatus a support member, a sewing machine carried by said member, said machine having stitch forming devices including a reciprocableneedle, means for intermittently driving said sewing machine, means operable at will for controlling the operation of said, machine by said driving means, a blower carried by said support member, said blower having a normally unobstructed intake opening for maximum efiiciency when the blower is active, means for driving said blower continuously, a conduit for delivering air from said blower to the zone of op eration of said needle, and means ,for rendering said blower inefiective, while continuing to operate, said last mentioned means comprising a flexible air-impervious shield having an edge secured to said blower and adapted to be readily flipped by the operator of the sewing machine either into a position to cut-oil the air intake for said blower or into an inoperative position, said shield being held in its active position by the suction of the blower. I I

8. In sewing apparatus a support member, a sewing machine carried by said member, said machine having stitch forming devices including a reciprocable needle, means for intermittently driving said sewing machine, means operable at will for controlling the operation of said machine by said driving means, a bracket secured to said support member, a blower carried by said bracket, the connections between said bracket and member and between said blower and bracket being such as to permit angular adjustment of said blower in both a horizontal and a vertical plane,

means for driving said blower continuously, a con-- duit carried wholly by said blower and adjustable therewith for delivering air from said blower to the zone of operation of said needle, and means readily accessible to the operator of the machine for rendering said blower ineffective at will.

NORMAN V. CHRISTENSEN. GEORGE SAUER. CLARENCE C. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 286,164 Robinson Oct. 2, 1883 v 1,370,006 Cook Mar. 1, 1921 1,719,255 Woodford July 2, 1929 1,832,899 Frederics Nov. 24, 1931 2,013,816 West Sept, 10, 1935 2,082,738 Vesconte June 1, 1937 2,400,741 Christensen et a1. May 21, 1946 

